Jennifer is also one of the co-founders of Teen Author Boot Camp, and works with amazing authors like James Dashner and Brandon Sanderson to help teens master the craft or writing.

New York Times bestselling author Jessica Day George read NAMELESS and loved it!: "Jenkins brings edge-of-your-seat adventure to this intriguing new world. I can’t wait to read more!”

Be sure to enter the giveaway found at the end of the post!

Four clans have been at war for centuries: the Kodiak, the Raven, the Wolf and the Ram. Through brutal war tactics, the Ram have dominated the region, inflicting death and destruction on their neighbors.

Seventeen-year-old Zo is a Wolf and a Healer who volunteers to infiltrate the Ram as a spy on behalf of the allied clans. She offers herself as a Ram slave, joining the people who are called the “nameless.” Hers is a suicide mission – Zo’s despair after losing her parents in a Ram raid has left her seeking both revenge and an end to her own misery. But after her younger sister follows her into Rams Gate, Zo must find a way to survive her dangerous mission and keep her sister safe.

What she doesn’t expect to find is the friendship of a young Ram whose life she saves, the confusing feelings she develops for a Ram soldier, and an underground nameless insurrection. Zo learns that revenge, loyalty and love are more complicated than she ever imagined in the first installment of this two-book series.

Chapter 1Zo couldn’t remember a time when she didn’t fear the Ram.Even after the raid, when so much of her fear had turnedto hate, the fear still existed beneath. It was a foundation thatshe came to rely upon. A constant.Sleeping under a fir tree so close to Ram’s Gate wentagainst her very nature. While her body revolted, she couldn’tthink of a more appropriate place to be. Zo choked down thebeastly fear clawing its way up her throat and smiled like thiswas just another assignment. “It’s time, Gabe.”Her guard, Gabe, rested on soggy pine needles beside her.His hands were tucked behind his shaggy blond head, eyesclosed in feigned sleep. He used to lay like that, with his armsarrogantly thrown back and his chest puffed out like he ownedthe world, when they were kids. The river would rush bycarrying rumors of starving clans and battles lost—heartachethat pulled tight strings of tension throughout Zo’s body—while Gabe just laid back and chewed on a grass root.Today, Gabe’s pretend-sleep didn’t fool Zo any more thanit ever had. They both knew he hadn’t slept soundly sincethey’d left the Allied Camp a week ago. With eyes still closed,Gabe frowned as Zo left the protection of his side to bundle herbedroll. She crawled out from under the skirt of the enormousfir tree. Its sweeping limbs that kissed the uneven ground hadkept them as safe as one could be in this godforsaken region.Behind her, Gabe growled impatiently as he gathered histhings to follow.“There’s no need to rush this.” He pushed the branch asideand threw out his pack with more force than necessary. Zoflinched, not used to seeing her childhood friend angry.“You didn’t wake me for my watch again,” said Zo,unsurprised. Ever since they’d left the Allies, Gabe had beeninsanely overprotective.“You need your sleep.”“And you don’t?”Gabe sighed and scooped a blob of mud from the newlythawed earth. He frowned and smeared it along the curvedplanes of Zo’s face and neck. The cool mud felt surprisinglycomforting, but it could have just been Gabe’s touch. Hiscapable hands shook while lines of worry deepened across hisbrow.“This won’t work.” He stopped and cupped his muddyhand at the base of her neck, his blue eyes pleading. “You’retoo pretty. A little mud can’t change that.”Zo yanked on the sleeve of her shirt until the seam split thenripped and frayed the cuff of her pant legs. Young, unarmedwomen just didn’t go on casual strolls through the periloushills of the Ram. Commander Laden said she needed to lookdesperate if she wanted them to believe her story. Her lie.As if looking desperate is hard, Zo thought.Gabe stood a full head taller than Zo. Despite his largeframe, he could outrun a jackrabbit and his mind was just asquick. A valuable weapon for the Allies. But with all of hisabilities, he was not the one walking into the lion’s den thismorning.He untwisted the strap of Zo’s medical satchel and let out along breath before dropping his hands to his sides.“I’ll miss you,” said Zo. Her voice carried the mechanicalcadence she’d adopted several years ago. A small part of her—the part that wasn’t dead—hated disappointing Gabe. He’ddone so much for her and her little sister, Tess, since they’djourneyed from the Valley of Wolves to live with CommanderLaden and the Allies.Thinking of her wild, eight-year-old sister brought atemporary smile to Zo’s muddied face. She couldn’t think ofTess and not imagine her tromping through the forest tryingto catch squirrels and sneak up on rabbits. It was her secondfavorite thing to do, next to following Zo around the AlliedCamp. The little tick wouldn’t take her absence well. Zo hadleft a note and arranged for her care, but that didn’t mean thekid wouldn’t be furious.Gabe pressed his cold hands to Zo’s face and forced her tolook at him. “Come back with me, Zo. Let Commander Ladensend someone else. Someone with less to lose.”“We’re not doing this again.” Zo pulled away. She hadbegged for this mission, and she would see it through. Nomatter what the cost. The Allies desperately needed informationthat only she could provide, if they hoped to defeat the mostpowerful military force in the region.Gabe’s hands curled into fists. His voice rose to carry overthe wind that whipped his unruly hair. “Entering Ram’s Gateis suicide! We don’t even know if you can get the informationLaden’s after.”The truth was far worse than Gabe could possibly know.He hadn’t heard what life would be like inside the Gate. Theywould eventually discover her, and once they did, they’d killher. Plain and simple.There were worse things a person could endure.She’d do anything for the Cause.“Goodbye, Gabe.” She kissed his frozen, whiskered cheek.His hand clamped down on Zo’s wrist and he yanked herinto a fierce embrace. “I’ll be close, waiting to help you escapethe minute you send word.” He smoothed down her wild, darkhair. “I’ll find a way to keep you safe, Zo. I swear it.”Zo forced a hollow smile, for Gabe’s sake. “Look afterTess. Tell her I’m doing this for her. Tell her I’m doing it forour parents.”She left Gabe standing frozen in the low light of morning.After a hard climb, Zo reached the towering wall of Ram’sGate. The wall was comprised of redwood logs at least fourfeet in diameter and fifty feet tall, bound together with heavyrope and shaved to a point at the top. Black tar and brokenglass glimmered along the high rim of the wall to discourageclans foolish enough to attack, and souls brave enough to dareescape.Zo looked right and left and saw no end to the wall throughthe thick maze of aspen and evergreens. From her training withCommander Laden, she knew the giant wall ran for miles ineach direction until it reached the cliffs that dropped off to thefreezing ocean below. Inside the wall were hundreds of acresof farmlands, mountainous forests, and enough homes to housethousands of Ram and the slaves they called “Nameless.”Calmer than a sane person should be, Zo dropped to herknees in the shadow of the ominous wall. Knowing thesemight be the last free moments of her life, she allowed herselfto think about things that were normally buried deep withinher. The memory of her mother’s soft skin. The safety of herfather’s smile. Tess’ dimples and her eagerness to please,despite her stubborn ways.The moment was as sweet as it was brief. But it was hers.Deep-voiced drums boomed and the enormous gate roseinch by inch. Men shouted orders and whips cracked. Throughthe gap of the slow-rising gate she saw at least forty men intattered animal hides with harnesses on their backs. Theyslipped through mud while struggling to turn a giant wheelconnected to a thick chain to raise the gate.The Nameless. The Ram had kept slaves for hundreds ofyears, some were captured, others came willingly, while mostwere born into the lowly title.Instinct told her to run, but fear and determination kept herfrozen in place. She locked the people she loved back into thecage that was her heart and prepared to face her enemy.Zo pressed her nose into the icy mud in a show ofsubmission. The drums ceased and the silence echoed in herchest like a painful heartbeat.The metal of short swords clinked against armor as menapproached. She peeked up to sight of a bald leader walkingahead of a wall of six soldiers. His cold eyes seemed too bigfor his head, protuberant like those of a frog.“Get up,” the leader commanded.Zo climbed to her feet but kept her gaze focused on theman’s fur-lined boots.“State your name and clan,” he ordered.“I am from the family Shaw of the Kodiak Clan,” Zo said,hoping her accent would pass. The Ram had raided one of theKodiak settlements a few weeks earlier. Many of the womenand children whose husbands had died in the raid wouldcome to the Gate, choosing to offer themselves as slaves overwatching their children starve to death.The leader circled her. “Age?”“Seventeen.”A few of the guards in the line exchanged words. Onelaughed under his breath.“You’re too thin to claim the Kodiak as your clan. Yourjaw is more square than round.”The sound of a young girl’s scream saved Zo from havingto answer.“Let me go! You’re hurting me!” the girl cried.Zo froze. It couldn’t be …A guard dressed in full armor carried the kicking child upthe muddy hill and dropped her at the bald leader’s feet.Zo’s whole body went rigid as her eight-year-old sister,Tess, scrambled up to hug her. “I’m so sorry,” Tess cried. Shemust have secretly followed them from the Allies, though howshe survived the dangerous journey unnoticed was beyond Zo.“Tess, I thought I’d lost you,” Zo stammered. She hopedher shock registered as relief instead of panic. “Don’t say aword,” Zo whispered in her ear as they embraced.“Who is this child?” the frog-eyed leader asked.“She is my sister, sir. We were separated. She found me.”“Clearly.” He circled the girls once more then reached outand grabbed Zo by the throat, forcing her to the ground on herback. His lips brushed her cheek as he spoke. “How do I knowyou’re not a stinking Wolf? That you’re not feeding me somestory?” His breath reeked of stale cabbage and rotten sausage.Zo’s heels dug small trenches in the mud as she struggledagainst the hand tightening around her throat. Black dotsinvaded her vision.The leader smiled and licked his lips as if she were his nextmeal. “We don’t allow Wolves through the Gate.” A string ofspittle escaped his lips and landed on her cheek. “Ever.” Hereleased his grip and Zo gasped for air.Tess rushed to Zo’s side, her eyes wet with tears.“With all of the clans mixing, it’s getting harder and harderto sort the wheat from the tares. I can’t take any chances …” He shrugged and nodded to his guard. The men moved in,pulling the sisters apart. Tess let out a shrill cry. A guard struckher tiny cheek.“Please!” Zo fought against firm hands digging into herarms. “I come from three generations of healers. My sister islearning too. We beg the mercy of the Ram, and pledge ourlives to your service!”The Gate Master held up a hand, and his men threw Zo tothe ground. His round, glassy eyes stayed fixed on her as hegrunted a soft command to one of his men. The soldier nodded,bowed, and ran back through the Gate.“A healer, you say?” The corner of his lip pulled up toreveal rotting teeth as he smiled. “We’ll see about that.”

With her degree in History and Secondary Education, Jennifer had every intention of teaching teens to love George Washington and appreciate the finer points of ancient battle stratagem. (Seriously, she’s obsessed with ancient warfare.) However, life had different plans in store when the writing began. As a proud member of Writers Cubed, and a co-founder of the Teen Author Boot Camp, she feels blessed to be able to fulfill both her ambition to work with teens as well as write Young Adult fiction.

Jennifer has three children who are experts at naming her characters, one loving, supportive husband, a dog with little-man syndrome, and three chickens (of whom she is secretly afraid).

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About Me

I am a single mother who reads every chance I get, and I am a teacher. I keep buying more books and haven't finished the ones I have. Soo many books, so little time :)I love my son who is now 16. He's in high school now, and my son isn't interested in driving....yes you read me correctly!!

I love paranormal genre, but will usually read anything fantasyish that peaks my interest. I have a bunch of books still to read and new authors, but work gets in the way...lol If your interested in being friends, please send a request. If you have a book request, please message me on facebook, goodreads :) I can't do every request, but I wish I could just ask me :) If I can't review it, I can still help with a blog post. Just keep in mind, I do this for fun not for profit, so sometimes other things may have priority in my life :)